Arthur samuel newman



Nov. 26, 1929 A. s. NEWMAN MECHANISM FOR OPERATING ELECTRICAL CONTACTS AND OTHER DEVICES,

- Filed Jan. 27. 1928 0 the lever and the periphery of the disc.

Patented Nov. 26, 1929 PATENT OFFICE ARTHUR SAMUEL NEWMAN, OF LONDON, ENGLAND MECHANISM FOR OPERATING ELECTRICAL CONTACTS AND OTHER DEVICES Application filed January 27, 1928, Serial No. 250,062, and in Great Britain January 27, 1927.

The object of the present invention is to provide improved mechanism which may be used for operating electrical contacts and other devices, and which enables considerable 5 pressure to be exerted after the mechanism has been put into operation by means of a small initial effort.

According to the present invention a roller, which may be a ball and is hereinafter referred to as a ball, isdriven by suitable means, such as a blast of air, although it may be driven by a trigger device and other suitable mechanism, into a pathwaybetween a pivoted curved lever and arotating disc. The curved lever will be pivoted at one end and in its position of rest will pass near its centre close to the periphery of the rotating disc, and will then pass away from the rotating disc a sufiicient distance to allow a ball to drop betwle leln e lever must be so curved that the ball will be gripped between the surfaces of the rotating disc and the interior of the curved lever. Therotating disc causes the ball to run between its periphery and the curved lever, thereby moving this latter away from the disc. The curved lever is normally held close to the rotating disc, but preferably not in contact therewith, by means of a spring which may be one of the electrical contacts, and this contact, when moved by the action of the ball and curved lever, rubs against the other contact.

The curved lever may be provided with a catch in the form of aratchet toot-h acting in conjunction with a spring pawl, so that after the ball has passed out of the path between the rotating disc and the curved lever, the two contacts are still completing the electrical circuit.

After the ball has passed out of contact with the curved leverit continues to move in a suitable guide under the action of the rotat- 'ing disc,'until it has returned to its position of rest, ready to receive a new impulse.

- --If anumber of curved levers are arranged side by sidepartly encircling a rotating rod, and if separate balls'are provided to act in conjunction with each curved lever, and if a single pawl be employed to act in conjunction with the catches of all the curved levers, any one of the curved levers may close its particular electric circuit, which remains closed until another ba-ll acts upon another lever.

The catch acting in conjunction with the pawl first allows the pawl to drop on to the catch and the continued motion of the curved lever, by means of its catch acting against an incline on the pawl raises the spring pawl and, in the case of a curved lever which has been previously depressed to complete an electric circuit and where there is no ball between the curved lever and the disc, the catch will be freed and will break the circuit, but that particular lever which is being moved by the ball will slowly return towards the disc until its catch is held by the spring pawl and it will continue to be held until another ball operates another curved lever.

The impulses may be given to the different balls by connecting each receptacle for a ball by means of a tube to one of a group of tubes, and air pressure may be admitted to any one of these tubes by means of a moving band or plate having apertures pierced therein, which apertures each coincide with one of the tubes formino the group.

Instead of employing the curved lovers to make electrical contact they may be employed to give mechanical motion to a moving part.

In the case of a disc or rod mounted on a horizontal axle, the path from a curved lever to the receptacle for a ball may be constituted by a light curved spring; which will keep the ball in contact with the periphery of the disc.

One method of carrying the invention into effect is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a vertical section taken generally on the line AA of Fig. 2, but showing some parts in elevation, and

Fig. 2 is a front elevation partly broken away of an apparatus comprising a plurality of devices for operating a plurality of electrical contacts.

As shown in the drawings a is a base plate to which are fixed vertical end plates 6, b which are connected together by means of. r d 0, d, f, Th base plate a has fix d thereto a transverse block of insulating mat rial g to which are connected by the screws it one set of electrical contacts 2', 2'. The end plates 6, I) carry a second transverse lock of insulating material to which are fixed the second set of electrical contacts is, k.

A plurality of air tubes Z, Z, corresponding in number to the pairs of electrical contacts, is carried by a cross bar m. Each air tube Z leads into a chamber or receptacle n adapted to contain and loosely fit'a ball 0, and a stop such as the screw 10 prevents the ball 0 resting against the inner end of-the air tube Z. The chamber or receptacle n is continued by means of a channel 9 and both these parts are slightly inclined so that a ball 0 entering the channel Q will roll into thechamber n and rest against the screw p.

A roller 1" is mounted in suitable bearing-s ,3, 8 carried by th end plates Z), Z). The curved levers t, t are pivoted at their rear ends upon the cross rod (Z and their front ends are normally adjacent to the channels 9, 9. At or about their centres these curved levers t, ,2? pass close to but preferably not in contact with theroller 1". Inthe drawings the levers t, t are shown in actual contact with the roller r as the airgap separating them would be quite small. Each curved lever 15 carries on its under side a block of insulating material a, thelower .end of which acts upon an electrical contact 70. Each lever t also carries a curved spring 41 which guides a ball 0 after it has passed out of contact with the lever 25. Each lever t is also formed integral with a catch in the form of a ratchet tooth w.

A pawl Q? is pivoted onthe rod f, extends across all the catches (L0 and is under the action of the two springs 2 a. This pawl 00 has a hook l at its outer end and an inclined surface 2 adjacent to the hook 1, A screw 3 limits the motion of the pawl m and a screw 4 limits the motion of the catch to thereby retaining the curved lever t, as shown, just in contact with the roller ,1" allowing but-small friction between the parts.

On the rods 0 and c are placed separating plates 5 which are spaced apart by distance pieces in the form of short tubes 6 and? also placed on the rods 0 and e. A glass window 8 is supported by the crossbar m, the separating plates 5 and the end plates Z), 5. A transverse block 9 passing through the separating plates 5 has .afiat inclined upper surface 10,,a vertical end surface 11 and a curved lower surface 12,

Then a blast of air enters a tube Z it blows a ball 0 r ugh the channel 9 and t ent rs between a lever 15 and theroller r. The rotation of the roller w n the direct-ion cf the arrow causes the ball to travel between the lever t and the reller r the eby causing the lever I to rock on its rod gland causing the contact spring is to rub against the contact spring i- The/m tion Of the lever t causes the catch on to act against the inclined face of the hook 1, thereby raising the pawl 02, which drops on to the upper end of the catch w. This latter however continues to move in the same direction and then acts against the inclined surface 2 again raising the pawl suiiiciently to free the hook I from the catch w. As the ball 0 continues its motion past the point of contact between the roller 1" and the lever 6' (shown in Fig. 1) this latter under the action of the two spring contacts commences to return towards the roller 7* and the catch 10 moves out of contact with the inclined surface 2 and is caught by the hook 1 which retains the springs in and 2' in contact.

V hen the pawl a: is again raised by another ball 0 it first releases any cat-ch w already retained by it and then retains that catch by which it has last een raised thereby first releasing one pair of contacts and then retaining another pair of springs is, i in contact.

Each ball 0 after it leaves the lever t runs between the roller 1 and a spring 1) on the inclined surface 10 and then drops between the vertical surface 11 and the bar m into the channel 9, whence it runs into the receptacle n.

Thesecontacts 7c, 2' are adapted to put into the circuit of an electric lamp for printing a kinematograph film various resistances to vary the intensity of the light, but they may be used for other purposes.

If the springs in and 2' be not connected to an electric circuit, the blocks a on the levers 25 may act mechanically upon the moving parts 2' and 7c and these latter may act upon any mechanical device as will be readily understood and is therefore not illustrated.

The apparatus is shown with, a plurality of levers t, catches 10, pairs of contacts 70, i and a roller 7", but it may comprise only one lever 17, one catch 10 and one pair of contacts In, i in which case the roller 9" will be of suitable length and will be in effect a disc, In such a construction it will be necessary to release the catch to by raising the hook 1 by hand.

WVhat I claim as my invention is 1. In improved apparatus for operating various devices having in combination a rotating circular member, a pivoted curved lever, a spring acting against the curved lever, a second spring adapted to be moved by the first spring, a catch carried by the curved lever, a pawl adapted to engage said catch, means for disengaging the ,pawl from the catch, a ball, means for driving the ball into a pathway between the curved lever and the rotating circular member, and means for returning the bail to its initial position after it has passed the curved lever, substantially as set forth.

2. An improved apparatus for operating electrical cont-acts having a roller, a plurality of pairs of electrical contacts, a plurality of spring pressed curved-levers adapted to close any pair of electrical contacts, a ball acting in conjunction with each curved lever, means for driving each ball into a pathway between the roller and a curved lever, a catch on each curved lever, a pawl acting in conjunction with all the catches, an incline on the pawl, against which all the catches are adapted to act, for the purpose of releasing any catch, substantially as set forth.

3. An improved apparatus for operating electrical contacts having a roller, a plurality of pairs of electrical contacts, a plurality of spring pressed curved levers adapted to close any pair of electrical contacts, a fixed separating plate between each curved lever, a ball acting in conjunction with each curved lever, means for driving each ball into a pathway between the roller and a curved lever, a catch on each curved lever, a pawl acting in conjunction with all the catches, an incline on the pawl against which all the catches are adapted to act for the purpose of releasing any catch, substantially as set forth.

4. An improved apparatus for operating various devices having in combination a rotating circular member, a pivoted spring pressed curved lever, a ball, means for driving the ball into a pathway between the curved lever and the rotating circular member, and means for pressing the ball against the rotating circular member after it has passed the curved lever, substantially as set forth.

5. An improved apparatus for operating various devices having in combination a rotating circular member, a pivoted spring pressed curved lever, a ball, means for driving the ball into a pathway betweenthe curved lever and the rotating circular member, and a curved spring carried by the curved lever to press the ball against the rotating member and to guide the ball back to its initial position, substantially as set forth.

6. An improved apparatus for operating various devices having in combination a rotating circular member, a pivoted spring pressed curved lever, a ball, a receptacle to contain the ball, an air tube leading into said receptacle, an inclined channel connected to said receptacle through which the ball passes into a pathway between the said curved lever and the said rotating circular member, a spring carried by the curved lever and adapted to press the ball against the rotating member to return the said ball into the said inclined channel whence it rolls into the said receptacle, substantially as set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

ARTHUR SAMUEL NElVlVIAN. 

